Day: February 25, 2015

If we want to understand the real history of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, we can turn to a trustworthy Jewish source: Albert Einstein. Einstein was a humanitarian and peace activist, in addition to being one of the greatest scientists of all time. What did this extremely intelligent, wonderfully wise and warmly humane Jew have to say about Israel’s treatment of Palestinians? In his landmark letter to the New York Times in 1948, Einstein clearly and candidly explained why Israel’s militant Zionist leaders were not to be trusted and did not deserve money or support from Americans. (You can find scanned images of the Einstein letter online, and because it appeared in a major American newspaper its authenticity is not in doubt.) The letter was also signed by Hannah Arendt, Sidney Hook and more than 20 other Jewish intellectuals who wanted to alert Americans and the larger world to the dangers of emergent racism, fascism, terrorism and religious fanaticism in the newly-formed state of Israel. They also foresaw and predicted the disastrous results we see today in Israel/Palestine. I have annotated the letter with [bracketed comments] to help readers better understand how the “Einstein Letter” relates to the present situation. Other prominent, world-esteemed Jews have strongly opposed the policies and methods of the militant Zionists, including Sigmund Freud, Franz Kafka, Isaac Asimov, Erich Fromm and Noam Chomsky. They have been joined by great men of peace like Mohandas Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu and Jimmy Carter.—Michael R. Burch, an editor and publisher of Holocaust and Nakba poetry

New Palestine Party
Visit of Menachem Begin and Aims of Political Movement Discussed

TO THE EDITORS OF THE NEW YORK TIMES:

Among the most disturbing political phenomena of our times is the emergence in the newly created state of Israel of the “Freedom Party” (Tnuat Haherut), a political party closely akin in its organization, methods, political philosophy and social appeal to the Nazi and Fascist parties. It was formed out of the membership and following of the former Irgun Zvai Leumi, a terrorist, right-wing, chauvinist organization in Palestine.The current visit of Menachem Begin, leader of this party, to the United States is obviously calculated to give the impression of American support for his party in the coming Israeli elections, and to cement political ties with conservative Zionist elements in the United States. Several Americans of national repute have lent their names to welcome his visit. It is inconceivable that those who oppose fascism throughout the world, if correctly informed as to Mr. Begin’s political record and perspectives, could add their names and support to the movement he represents.

[Einstein made the point that supporting Jewish fascists like Menachem Begin was like supporting Nazis. Unfortunately, many prominent Americans have supported the fascist movement led by Begin and his disciples, who now firmly control Israel. Begin founded Herut in 1948. It was the political twin of the Irgun, a violent terrorist group headed by Begin. Both were ultra-right-wing organizations that opposed any ceasefires or negotiations with Arabs, preferring to expand Israel’s territory in defiance of international law and the U.N. mandate that partitioned Palestine, defining Israel’s borders. Before entering politics, Begin had been the preeminent terrorist in the Middle East, wantonly murdering British, Jewish and Arab civilians. His most notorious act was blowing up the King David Hotel in 1946. That explosion killed 91 people and wounded 46 others, most of them hotel staff and other civilians. (This remains the single most deadly act of terrorism in Israel/Palestine to this day.) It was not just peace-loving intellectuals who compared Begin to European fascists like Hitler, because David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s George Washington and first prime minister, who was no shrinking violet, said similar things. But by the mid-1960s Israel’s voters were swinging hard to the extreme right. A 1964 government resolution calling for the reinternment of Zeev Jabotinsky’s remains in Israel signaled Herut’s and Begin’s ascendency. (Jabotinsky was the creator of the fascist “Iron Wall” doctrine, which maintains that Jews must crush the spirit and will of Palestinians through superior firepower and sheer brutality, rather than seeking peace through diplomacy and compromise.) In 1977, the former über-terrorist Begin was elected prime minister in a landslide. In his book Palestine: Peace, not Apartheid, former U.S. president and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Jimmy Carter mentioned the sea change that took place in Israel’s policies after Begin came to power. Begin’s administration promoted the construction of illegal Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza, in effect expanding Israel’s borders by allowing robber barons to steal land from defenseless Palestinian farmers and their families. Begin also authorized the 1982 invasion of Lebanon, which became Israel’s Vietnam. As Israeli military involvement in Lebanon deepened, and the Sabra and Shatila massacre shocked the world, Begin grew increasingly isolated. He resigned from politics in 1983, but his racist, fascist spirit lives on in disciples of his and Jabotinsky’s, such as Israel’s current prime minister, Benyamin “Bibi” Netanyahu.]

Before irreparable damage is done by way of financial contributions, public manifestations in Begin’s behalf, and the creation in Palestine of the impression that a large segment of America supports Fascist elements in Israel, the American public must be informed as to the record and objectives of Mr. Begin and his movement.

[Unfortunately, the American pubic, through their government, have supplied Israel with hundreds of billions of dollars in financial aid and advanced weapons. That “aid” has been used by Israel to practice large-scale ethnic cleansing in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. This ethnic cleansing begins with home demolitions (more than 24,000 according to the Israeli Committee Against Home Demolitions), which are followed by Israel’s euphemistic “settlement expansions.” Funding this wildly unjust system, which has been compared to a new Holocaust, has created the impression in Palestine and throughout the Muslim world that Americans are raging hypocrites when they talk about “equal rights,” “justice” and “democracy.” Muslims have correctly concluded that the U.S. will always support Israel, no matter how cruelly, brutally and offensively it treats Palestinians, Bedouins and other non-Jews in its quest for free land and ever-expanding borders. The results have included 9-11, two horrific wars, multitudes of lives lost on both sides, and trillions of dollars in unpaid war debt that threatens not only the solvency of the U.S., but also that of the free world. If the dollar plummets in value, or if the U.S. can no longer borrow money, what will happen to the economies of Germany, Japan, and other countries that rely on exports to Americans?]

The public avowals of Begin’s party are no guide whatever to its actual character. Today they speak of freedom, democracy and anti-imperialism, whereas until recently they openly preached the doctrine of the Fascist state. It is in its actions that the terrorist party betrays its real character; from its past actions we can judge what it may be expected to do in the future.

[If we heed Einstein’s wisdom, and judge Israel by its actions—apartheid, ethnic cleansing, strafing its victims in Gaza—rather than by oceans of self-serving propaganda, the racist/fascist nature of its government quickly becomes apparent. Or we can simply read what prime ministers of Israel and other prominent Zionists have said themselves. Please keep in mind that when the terms “transfer,” “eviction” and “removal” are used, the Zionists are talking about ethnic cleansing: a crime against humanity. When the right of return is denied to Palestinians, this means the victims of ethnic cleansing are being collectively sentenced to remain stateless, rightless refugees forever. When the term “expropriation” is used, it means the theft of Palestinian land via superior firepower, which is armed robbery. Here now are the leading Zionists in their own words; you can judge for yourself whether Einstein was correct, or not …

“Spirit [ethnically cleanse] the penniless [Arab] population across the border by denying them employment.”—Theodore Herzl, the founder of Zionism
“This REMOVAL [ethnic cleansing] of the poor [Arabs] must be carried out discreetly and circumspectly.”—Herzl (who obviously knew it was wrong)
“It is our right to TRANSFER [ethnically cleanse] the Palestinians!”—Transfer Committee Director Yossef Weitz, who oversaw Israel’s pogroms
“We [Zionists] all applaud, day and night, the IRON WALL.”—Ze’ev Jabotinsky, spiritual father of the Likud and disciples like Menachem Begin
“This IRON WALL is our policy towards the Arabs. To formulate it any other way would be hypocrisy.”—Jabotinsky
“Zionist colonization … must either be terminated, or carried out in defiance of the will of the native population.”—Jabotinsky
“Zionism is a colonizing adventure and, therefore, it stands or falls on the question of armed forces.”—Jabotinsky
“The Arab is culturally backward … his instinctive patriotism … cannot be bought, it can only be curbed by major force.”—Jabotinsky
“There is no justice, no law, no God in heaven; only a single law which decides and supersedes all: [Jewish] settlement.”—Jabotinsky
“I devote my life to the rebirth of the Jewish State, with a Jewish majority, on both sides of the Jordan.”—Jabotinsky
“The Islamic soul must be broomed [swept, ethnically cleansed] out of Eretz-Yisrael.”—Jabotinsky“Hitler—as odious as he is to us—has given this idea [ethnic cleansing] a good name in the world.”—Jabotinsky
“Zionism is a TRANSFER of the Jews.”—David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first Prime Minister, defining Zionism as ethnic cleansing/replacement
“The compulsory TRANSFER of the Arabs … could give us something we never had [even in Biblical times].”—Ben-Gurion
“Jewish power, which grows steadily, will also increase our possibilities to carry out the TRANSFER on a large scale.”—Ben-Gurion
“With compulsory TRANSFER we can have a vast area … I don’t see anything immoral in it.”—Ben-Gurion
“It is impossible to imagine general EVACUATION without compulsion, and brutal compulsion.“—Ben-Gurion
“There are two issues here: sovereignty and the REMOVAL of a certain number of Arabs; we must insist on both.“—Ben-Gurion
“Before [statehood] our main interest was self-defense … But now the issue at hand is CONQUEST, not self-defense.”—Ben-Gurion
“We should prepare to go over to the offensive. Our aim is to smash Lebanon, Trans-Jordan, and Syria.”—Ben-Gurion
“We must do everything to ensure they [ethnically cleansed Palestinian refugees] never return.”—Ben-Gurion
“The interests of security demand that we get rid of them.”—Israel’s second Prime Minister, Moshe Sharett
“TRANSFER [ethnic cleansing] could be the crowning achievement, the final stage in the development of [Zionist] policy …”—Sharett
“We are equally determined to explore all possibilities of getting rid, once and for all, of the huge Arab minority.”—Sharett
“There is no such thing as a Palestinian.”—Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir (later parroted by Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum)“They [the Palestinians] are as grasshoppers in our sight.”—Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir
“The Palestinians are like crocodiles …”—Prime Minister Ehud Barak
“We shall reduce the Palestinians to a community of woodcutters and waiters.”—Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin
“[The Palestinians] are beasts walking on two legs.”—Prime Minister Menachem Begin
“There is no Zionism, colonization, or Jewish state without the EVICTION of the Arabs and the expropriation [theft] of their lands.”—Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
“I believed and to this day still believe, in our people’s eternal and historic right to this entire land.”—Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
“The killing [of Palestinians] is a good deed, and Jews should have no compunction about it.”—Rabbi Yitzhak Ginsburg
“[Land is acquired] by force—that is, by CONQUEST in war, or in other words, by ROBBING land from its owner.”—Menachem Ussishkin
“This the land problem … the [Palestinian] Arabs do not want us because we want to be the rulers.”—Ussishkin (who can blame them?)
“Eventually we will have to thin out the number of Palestinians living in the territories.”—General Eitan Ben Elyahu
“There are no two peoples here. There is a Jewish people and an Arab population.”—Benzion Netanyahu
“We should CONQUER any disputed territory in the Land of Israel. CONQUER and hold it, even if it brings us years of war.“—Netanyahu
“[Zionism] will include withholding food from Arab cities, preventing education, terminating electrical power and more.”—Netanyahu, predicting Gaza’s fate

Do we need any more evidence than what the prime movers of Zionism said themselves, and the terrible things they did, which confirm their self-incriminating words?]

Attack on Arab Village

A shocking example was their behavior in the Arab village of Deir Yassin. This village, off the main roads and surrounded by Jewish lands, had taken no part in the war, and had even fought off Arab bands who wanted to use the village as their base. On April 9 (THE NEW YORK TIMES), terrorist bands attacked this peaceful village, which was not a military objective in the fighting, killed most of its inhabitants ” 240 men, women, and children ” and kept a few of them alive to parade as captives through the streets of Jerusalem. Most of the Jewish community was horrified at the deed, and the Jewish Agency sent a telegram of apology to King Abdullah of Trans-Jordan. But the terrorists, far from being ashamed of their act, were proud of this massacre, publicized it widely, and invited all the foreign correspondents present in the country to view the heaped corpses and the general havoc at Deir Yassin.

The Deir Yassin incident exemplifies the character and actions of the Freedom Party.

Within the Jewish community they have preached an admixture of ultranationalism, religious mysticism, and racial superiority. Like other Fascist parties they have been used to break strikes, and have themselves pressed for the destruction of free trade unions. In their stead they have proposed corporate unions on the Italian Fascist model.

During the last years of sporadic anti-British violence, the IZL and Stern groups inaugurated a reign of terror in the Palestine Jewish community. Teachers were beaten up for speaking against them, adults were shot for not letting their children join them. By gangster methods, beatings, window-smashing, and wide-spread robberies, the terrorists intimidated the population and exacted a heavy tribute.

The people of the Freedom Party have had no part in the constructive achievements in Palestine. They have reclaimed no land, built no settlements, and only detracted from the Jewish defense activity. Their much-publicized immigration endeavors were minute, and devoted mainly to bringing in Fascist compatriots.

Discrepancies Seen

The discrepancies between the bold claims now being made by Begin and his party, and their record of past performance in Palestine bear the imprint of no ordinary political party. This is the unmistakable stamp of a Fascist party for whom terrorism (against Jews, Arabs, and British alike), and misrepresentation are means, and a “Leader State” is the goal.

In the light of the foregoing considerations, it is imperative that the truth about Mr. Begin and his movement be made known in this country. It is all the more tragic that the top leadership of American Zionism has refused to campaign against Begin’s efforts, or even to expose to its own constituents the dangers to Israel from support to Begin.

The undersigned therefore take this means of publicly presenting a few salient facts concerning Begin and his party; and of urging all concerned not to support this latest manifestation of fascism.

Further reading:Einstein on Palestine asks why Einstein turned down the presidency of Israel, and examines what the great Jewish intellectual, peace activist, pacifist and humanitarian had to say about the conflict between Jews and Palestinians.

Mattityahu “Matti” Peled was called Abu Salaam, the “Father of Peace,” by the Palestinians who knew him. Peled was an Israeli war hero and Aluf (Major General) who became a strong advocate for a Palestinian state and a stern critic of Israel’s brutal occupation of the Palestinian territories, which he called “corrupting” and a violation of the Geneva Conventions. He also called American aid to Israel a “plague” that was “damaging” to Israel and far in excess of Israel’s actual defense needs.

The Shministimare idealistic, principled young Israeli Jews who refuse to serve in a brutal army of occupation after they graduate from high school.

An international Israeli conspiracy to kidnap children and harvest their organs is gathering momentum as another shocking story divulges Tel Aviv’s plot to import Ukrainian children and harvest their organs.

The story brings to light the fact that Israel has brought some 25,000 Ukrainian children into the occupied entity over the past two years in order to harvest their organs. It cites a Ukrainian man’s fruitless search for 15 children who had been adopted in Israel. The children had clearly been taken by Israeli medical centers, where they were used for ‘spare parts’.

The account was unveiled five days ago by a Ukrainian philosophy professor and author, Vyacheslav Gudin, at a pseudo-academic conference in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev. Gudin told an estimated 300 attendees of the Kiev conference that it was essential that all Ukrainians be made aware of the genocide Israel was perpetrating.

The conference also featured two professors who presented a book blaming “the Zionists” for the Ukrainian famine of the 1930s, as well as the country’s current condition.

Meanwhile, Ukrainians demonstrated outside the Israeli Embassy in Kiev on Tuesday to protest a letter signed by 26 Knesset members (MKs) condemning what they described as anti-Semitic remarks by presidential candidate Sergey Ratushnyak. Protesters chanted ‘Ukraine isn’t the Gaza Strip,’ suggesting that they consider the effort by the Israeli MKs as an intervention in their country.

A story, published in the Arabic-language Algerian daily al-Khabar in September, reported that Interpol, the international police organization, has revealed the existence of ‘a Jewish gang’ that was ‘involved in the abduction of children from Algeria and trafficking of their organs.’

According to the story, bands of Moroccans and Algerians had been roaming the streets of Algerian cities in an attempt to hunt around for young children. They then trafficked the kids across the border into the neighboring Morocco.

The children were then sold to Israelis and American Jews in Oujda, the capital of eastern Morocco, for the purpose of organ harvest in Israel and the United States.

The story is based on statements made by Mustafa Khayatti, head of the Algerian National Committee for the Development of Health Research. Khayatti maintains that the abduction of children in Algeria is linked to arrests made in New York and New Jersey at the end of July, in which several Jewish men were among the 44 arrested in connection to an investigation into illegal organ trafficking and political corruption.

The story comes in line with the article published last month in Aftonbladet, Sweden’s largest circulation daily, suggesting that the Israeli army kidnapped and killed young Palestinians to harvest their organs. It shed light on the case of Bilal Ahmed Ghanem, a 19-year-old Palestinian man, who was shot dead in 1992 by Israeli forces in the West Bank village of Imatin.

Bostrom, who witnessed the man’s killing, said Ghanem’s body was abducted following the shooting and was returned at midnight, during an imposed curfew, several days later by the Israeli military with a cut from the stomach to the neck that had been stitched up.

Bostrom argued that an autopsy would be required if the cause of death was not apparent, while in this case it was clear that Bilal was shot dead.

After that incident, at least 20 Palestinian families told Bostrom that they suspected that the Israeli military had taken the organs of their sons after they had been killed and then taken away by Israeli forces before being dropped back in the area.

And this is not the first time. In July this year there another organ scam by people with contacts in Israel was uncovered in New Jersey, USA. Read the following article from Bloomberg.com :

The rabbis were charged with laundering money that often was sent to Israel. They are members of the Syrian Jewish or Hasidic Jewish communities, Marra said at the news conference. Authorities issued a warrant for Schwartz’s arrest. The other four rabbis were arrested yesterday and appeared in court.

“This case uncovered a web of corruption that spanned the state,” Dun said. “All of the individuals were connected through their illicit activities with the undercover witness.”

Kassin is accused of laundering more than $200,000 through Dwek from June 2007 through December 2008 by accepting “dirty checks” from him and exchanging them for “clean” checks, according to prosecutors.

‘Asserts His Innocence’

“The rabbi asserts his innocence,” said Kassin attorney Robert Stahl after U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Falk imposed a $200,000 bail bond. “It’s a shame that he’s caught up in some misunderstanding. Despite his difficult circumstances, he remains confident that the system of justice will prevail.”

“He had no involvement in any scheme as alleged and certainly looks forward to the opportunity to clear his name,” Nahum attorney Justin Walder said. “There’s no profit, no involvement in any international scheme.”

Nahum was implicated by “a person who obviously has his own problems and tried to limit his exposure” to criminal charges, Walder said.

Fish, Schwartz and two other defendants used a charitable, tax-exempt organization called BCG, which was associated with Fish’s synagogue, to launder money by using money transfers, according to the FBI.

‘Vindication’

“We are confident that the transfers referred to in the complaint will be explained to a jury in a manner that will result in Mr. Fish’s vindication,” saidMichael Bachner, his attorney. He said Dwek “used his closeness and the sterling reputation of his family to manipulate individuals who believed that he would never be involved in illegal conduct.”

Levy-Izhak Rosenbaum, 58, of Brooklyn, was accused of conspiring with others to acquire and trade human organs for use in transplantation. Rosenbaum, who was “purportedly” involved in real estate, was approached by a cooperating witness and an undercover FBI agent about buying a human kidney from a human organ broker, according to the complaint.

Rosenbaum said it would cost $150,000, with half payable up front, according to the complaint. Rosenbaum said some of the money would go to the donor and some to doctors in Israel, according to the complaint.

‘Illegal to Sell’

“One of the reasons it’s so expensive is because you have to shmear (meaning pay various individuals for their assistance) all the time,” according to the complaint. “It’s illegal to buy. It’s illegal to sell.”

Attorneys for Rosenbaum and the other suspects either couldn’t be identified or couldn’t be reached for comment.

Prosecutors charged the men in a series of criminal complaints detailing the allegations. Ben Haim was accused of laundering $1.5 million through the undercover witness, who said he “was engaged in illegal businesses and schemes including bank fraud, trafficking in counterfeit goods and concealing assets and monies in connection with bankruptcy proceedings,” according to an FBI criminal complaint.

Before his 2006 arrest, Dwek deposited two $25 million checks from another account of his, which had a zero balance, prosecutors alleged. Dwek then wired $22.8 million out of PNC, falsely assuring bank officials that he would forward funds to cover the overdraft, according to prosecutors.

$10 Million Bond

Dwek posted a $10 million bond, secured by $3 million in equity in the homes of his mother-in-law and sister-in-law. Dwek was never indicted, instead receiving 17 extensions from a judge to continue the period in which his case had to be presented to a federal grand jury.

More than 300 agents of the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service arrested the suspects and executed search warrants this morning, according to Dun.

Agents arrested 37 suspects yesterday, two surrendered, and three, including Smith, are expected to surrender tomorrow. Authorities issued arrest warrants for two other suspects.

Agents also searched the house of Joseph Doria, a former Democratic assemblyman and the commissioner of the state Department of Community Affairs. He hasn’t been charged. They also searched the offices of the president of St. Peter’s College, a school in Jersey City, as well as a synagogue in Deal, Dun said.

“Any corruption is unacceptable — anywhere, anytime, by anybody,” New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, a Democrat seeking re-election against Republican Christopher Christie, the former U.S. attorney in New Jersey, said in a statement.

‘Cannot Be Tolerated’

“The scale of corruption we’re seeing as this unfolds is simply outrageous and cannot be tolerated,” Corzine said.

The arrests yesterday emerged from an investigation that spans a decade and has led to two earlier roundups.

“New Jersey’s corruption problem is one of the worst, if not the worst, in the country,” FBI supervising agent Ed Kahrer said. “Corruption is a cancer that is destroying the core values of this state and this great nation.”

So why do they do it? One reason is obviously money but there are other explanations such as Professor Israel Shahak’s in his book “Jewish History, Jewish Religion: The Weight of Three Thousand Years”:

“ACCORDING TO THE JEWISH religion, the murder of a Jew is a capital offense and one of the three most heinous sins (the other two being idolatry and adultery). Jewish religious courts and secular authorities are commanded to punish, even beyond the limits of the ordinary administration of justice, anyone guilty of murdering a Jew. A Jew who indirectly causes the death of another Jew is, however, only guilty of what talmudic law calls a sin against the ‘laws of Heaven’, to be punished by God rather than by man.

“When the victim is a Gentile, the position is quite different. A Jew who murders a Gentile is guilty only of a sin against the laws of Heaven, not punishable by a court. To cause indirectly the death of a Gentile is no sin at all.

“Thus, one of the two most important commentators on the Shulhan Arukh explains that when it comes to a Gentile, ‘one must not lift one’s hand to harm him, but one may harm him indirectly, for instance by removing a ladder after he had fallen into a crevice .., there is no prohibition here, because it was not done directly: He points out, however, that an act leading indirectly to a Gentile’s death is forbidden if it may cause the spread of hostility towards Jews.

“A Gentile murderer who happens to be under Jewish jurisdiction must be executed whether the victim was Jewish or not. However, if the victim was Gentile and the murderer converts to Judaism, he is not punished.